Opposition (Australia)

In Australian parliamentary practice, the Opposition or the Official Opposition consists of the second largest party or coalition of parties in the Australian House of Representatives, with its leader being given the title Leader of the Opposition. The Opposition serves the same function as the official opposition in other Commonwealth of Nations monarchies that follow the Westminster conventions and practices. It is seen as the alternative government and the existing administration's main opponent in the Australian Parliament and at a general election. By convention, the Opposition Leader in the federal Parliament comes from the House of Representatives, as does the deputy, although the Government and Opposition may also both have leaders in the Senate. The Opposition is sometimes styled as His Majesty's Loyal Opposition^[1] to show that, although the group may be against the sitting government, it remains loyal to the Crown (the embodiment of the Australian state), and thus to Australia.

The current Opposition at a federal level is the centre-right Liberal Party/National Party Coalition, led by Peter Dutton.

State and territory opposition

The opposition parties and leaders in the Australian states and territories are:

State/territory	Opposition party/coalition		Leader of the Opposition	Opposition
Australian Capital Territory		Liberal	Leanne Castley	Australian Capital Territory Opposition[2]
New South Wales		Liberal (Coalition)	Mark Speakman	New South Wales Opposition[3]
		National (Coalition)
Northern Territory		Labor	Selena Uibo	Northern Territory Opposition[4]
Queensland		Labor	Steven Miles	Queensland Opposition[5]
South Australia		Liberal	Vincent Tarzia[6]	South Australian Opposition[7]
Tasmania		Labor	Dean Winter	Tasmanian Opposition[8]
Victoria		Liberal (Coalition)	John Pesutto	Victorian Opposition[9]
		National (Coalition)
Western Australia		National	Shane Love	Western Australian Opposition[10]
		Liberal

See also

• List of federal Opposition Leaders
• Shadow Ministry of Australia

References

1. Maiden, Samantha (18 November 2010). "Altar egos clash over Wills and Babykins". The Australian. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
2. "ACT Shadow Ministry Tenth Assembly" (PDF). www.parliament.act.gov.au. 30 June 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
3. "Shadow Ministry". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
4. "Shadow Ministry - 14th Assembly". parliament.nt.gov.au. Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
5. "Current Shadow Ministers". www.parliament.qld.gov.au. Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
6. "SA Liberals elect former environment minister David Speirs as new party leader". ABC News. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
7. "South Australia - 55th Parliament Shadow Ministry" (PDF). The Parliament of South Australia. 8 August 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
8. "Labor Shadow Ministry". www.parliament.tas.gov.au. Parliament of Tasmania. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
9. "Liberal Nationals Shadow Cabinet" (PDF). new.parliament.vic.gov.au. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
10. "Shadow Ministers". www.parliament.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 18 September 2023.